1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, information processing method and a medium, and particularly to an information processing apparatus, information processing method and a medium which are useful for a broadcasting system intended for the broadcast of programs which supplement a main television (TV) program for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, satellite televisions (based on broadcasting satellites and communication satellites) and cable televisions (CATVs) are prevailing, and these TV broadcasts have a growing number of channels.
The TV broadcast contains a variety of programs including dramas, news, sports and advertisements (commercials). A TV viewer who watches a commercial program and intends to known advertised commodities in more detail is obliged to get catalogs or other publications which describe the commodities.
A conceivable scheme of providing the viewer with information pertaining to the content of a program of one channel (e.g., detailed information on commodities which are introduced in a commercial program) is to broadcast that information on another channel.
The broadcast of information related to a main program which is broadcast on one channel supplements the main program in a sense, and accordingly it will be called “supplemental broadcast” for the main broadcast. Namely, the main broadcast contains a main program, and the supplemental broadcast contains supplemental programs.
However, due to different channels of the main broadcast and supplemental broadcast, the viewer who intends to get the related information of the main program needs to remember the channel of supplemental broadcast, and is obliged to switch the channel from the main broadcast to the supplemental broadcast awkwardly.